FAO Forestry country profiles - legislation

Micronesia,Fed States of

Forestry legislation

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has a federal government, as well as individual governments for each of the four states - Yap, Kosrae, Chuuk and Pohnpei. The responsibilities of the national congress are defined in the constitution and include development of natural resources. Responsibility for enacting legislation and policies for forest management have been devolved to each state government. The legal framework supporting forest management in the FSM is therefore variable and highly complex. Each of the states of the FSM has its own Constitution and each of these specify various responsibilities for natural resource management. In Chuuk, for example, the Constitution specifies that, the Legislature shall provide by law for the development and enforcement of standards of environmental quality, and for the establishment of an independent state agency vested with responsibility for environmental matters. Conversely, for Kosrae, the responsibility is formulated differently: a person has the right to a healthful, clean, and stable environment. While providing for the orderly development and use of natural resources, the State Government shall by law protect the State's environment, ecology, and natural resources from impairment in the public interest. By way of example, the legal basis for the management of forest resources in Pohnpei is the 1979 Forest Management Act. The Pohnpei Watershed Forest Reserve and Mangrove Protection Act of 1987 was enacted to manage and protect the central one-third of the island (5 000 hectares of upland forest) and protect mangrove forests for shoreline protection (an additional 5 000 hectares). However, after strong public opposition, this Act is under major review to ensure its consistency with community-based forest management objectives.